The making of a masterpiece

23 January 2015

Love is all that is needed to create a masterpiece, and the love of a winemaker stems from the experience of previous generations and continual everyday work is needed to create a flavoursome wine masterpiece.

The quality of a future wine can be recognized in the ripening vine. Good wine can only be made from the highest quality of grapes. Before the harvest, one of the main tasks for a wine-maker is to control the yield. In the main wine producing regions, the yield of every type of grape is documented in the laws of the land.

Technological differences dictate the styles of future wine, and the harvest ends up under the press, whether it was collected by hand or by automatic equipment. Grape crests and grape seeds that are pressed together with the grapes give wine its astringency and its tannin.

Aging pulp is called maceration. If the must is in contact with the mashed peel of a dark grape for a long period of time, the outcome is red wine of a saturated colour. Rose wine gains its colour after brief contact with grape peels. During the process of making white wine, the grapes are separated from the grape crests and the must is filtered from any solid parts.

The process of transforming sugar into alcohol by using yeast is called fermentation. Terroirs that exist for decades make possible the creation of new unique yeast colonies.

Modern day wine makers are in control of the fermentation process, thus they can cultivate a certain taste and aroma. By regulating the temperature of the fermentation, it is possible to alter the properties of wine. Lower temperatures help to retain the original fruit aromas and class properties of grape. Secondary malolactic fermentation transforms apple acid into lactic acid.

The quality of future wine is also affected by exposure to oxygen. The most fragrant types of grape are fermented without the exposure of oxygen, to preserve nature’s own delicate and aromatic bouquet. The level of sugar and the acidity of grapes depend on their ripeness. Slightly dried on the crests, these grapes contain a lot of natural sugar, allowing the production of sweet wine.

Wine aging is a process when wine is aged in special equipment and the best quality wines are aged in oak barrels. After some years of aging, the wine is bottled, undergoing the necessary intermediary steps of filtration and stabilization. Ready for sale, wine is distributed to stores and waits to be sold.